Pictures of Gratitude Day 30

My husband.  I can't imagine life without him.

Pictures of Gratitude Day 17

My amazing husband made this great tray for Isaiah to have on his wheelchair.  I'm thankful for my husband who always thinks of ways to help Isaiah enjoy his favorite things even more.

Pictures of Gratitude Day 7

I'm thankful that I'm able to run, including a really cool "Cross the Border" run into Canada with my husband.

I Stand Corrected

Nadia has been saying "Mama" for a while now, much to my pleasure.

We've been trying to get her to say "Papa" or "Dada" as well, but it just hasn't been happening. And then we realized why...

This man isn't Papa or Dada. Let me introduce to you...

Bapa!

I realize that there are certain speech issues that could be present here, but I must admit that I love the fact that Nadia named her daddy. And while Bapa is his name, I'm going to enjoy the sweetness of it.

A Special Day For A Special Daddy

Last Sunday was Father's Day.  In anticipation of celebrating the wonderful father my children, I asked Isaiah what he wanted to do for Daddy for Father's Day. 

M:  Do you want to make Daddy something for Father's Day?

I:  Yes.

M:  What would you like to make him?

I:  Cake!

And so we did:

Thank you, Thomas for being such a wonderful father to the amazing children God has given us.  We all love you!

Feel Good Friday

God has given me a wonderful husband, and today I want to list just five things (though there are LOTS more!) for which I'm thankful about him.

1.  Whether he's playing with our children or trying to stay awake while driving on a long trip, he's never afraid to be silly.

at a little friends birthday party he got creative with the remains of the pinata

2.  He is trying to be healthy so that he can be around with us for a long time!

We are always so glad to have him come home after his travels

3.  He knows what will bring joy to his family, which lately means he found a store that sells specialty hats and had the perfect hat made for his little boy, but it's for Christmas, so I'm not going to say any more about it.

4.  Cleaning is something that helps him deal with stress.  When we were first married, I didn't understand this, and whenever he helped me clean, I would get so offended.  OK, so not only when we were first married, this went on for a while.  Now, I appreciate how he rushes through the house to clean and get exercise and reduce his stress.  And I don't feel guilty; I'm just grateful.

5.  He's an amazing cook.  Tonight he's fixing us omelets, and I've been looking forward to it for days; they're so yummy!

I love you, Thomas! 

Pick a prompt from The Girl Next Door Grows Up and join the fun!

A Word from the Man

Hello, my blogosphere friends. This post contains a copy of a post that my husband wrote on our family's ministry blog. If you've read this blog for very long, you know that we live and serve in Russia. We are thrilled to be here, but we can't stay here on our own. We are so thankful for faithful family and friends who help us stay here to do the work we are called to do! But before I say everything that Thomas put so well, I'll just let you read his post:

Dear Friends,

I’m sitting here in our apartment in Russia contemplating the last two-and-a-half years that we’ve spent in this country. It’s been quite a “ride” to say the least. The Lord has led us down many paths, some in valleys, some on the tops of mountains, but through it all we’ve been preserved and blessed in the love of Christ our Savior.

Now, we are settled here and, in many ways, we call this home. After many brain-deadening lessons, we achieved fluency in the Russian language, and now our days are taken up more and more by direct ministry, rather than with cramming grammatical rules.

We believe we’ve been called to this work. Since the first time I visited Eastern Europe in 2000, and then Ukraine in 2001 my heart was burdened for ministry in Russia. God led Cristy and me together with a common calling to serve here. And despite challenges along the way, we are here by God’s grace.

Doors are opening now. Some connections are fully established and others are being made. It’s been 18 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and in many ways a new generation of missionaries is entering the field in Russia. We came right at the beginning of that shift and in many ways feel like we’re pioneering a new era.

For the first two years here we lived basically free of any financial concerns as far as our support goes. This was a huge blessing to us, as it allowed us the freedom to focus on learning the language, establishing ministry contacts and settling our family. But this past year has brought many changes. We are fully aware that the recession has affected many, and are appreciative of this fact. This has subsequently affected our support levels significantly. While some new supporters have stepped in along the way, it has not compensated for those who no longer are able to give. As a result we are, in a sense, “hanging on” with our support. We are doing everything we can to adjust to this. We have cut back our expenses significantly, and are, more than ever, careful with our money.

As things stand right now, if we continue to receive the average amount per month that is coming in, we will have to leave Russia and return to the States soon. We have committed that we are never going to go into debt in order to stay here. We believe firmly that if the Lord wants us to stay that he will provide the funds necessary. We still feel very strongly called to continue working here, but we also believe that the Lord provides, and gives us wisdom to know the right paths to take. We will continue to cut back until we can cut back no more, but we will not rack up credit card debt in order to stay here.

So, here is what we are in need of. We are seeking 45 people who can commit to $25 per month. This will help raise our monthly support level to the necessary amount needed to continue serving in Russia.

For those who give already, we thank you. We are not necessarily asking you to give more. But we are prayerfully seeking new partners in this ministry. So if you can we ask that you please pass this information along to others who might be seeking to support missions.

I thank you for taking a moment to read this letter. Believe me, it’s not the most fun aspect of what we do here, but we recognize that it is necessary, and want to do our due diligence in regards to our responsibilities here on the mission field.

Pressing on,
Thomas

Not a Trap

Last night I said something like, Because of how I feel inside, I think my stomach should be much bigger than it is.

Thomas and I were getting ready for bed at the time, and Thomas very sweetly said, I'm not touching that one. I'm not saying a thing.

What a wise and kind husband I have.

Happy Daddy's Day, Papa!

We've done a lot since last Daddy's Day, Papa! We've flown on airplanes and ridden on buses. We've been places and done things. For some reason, every Daddy's Day, someone is sick. Two times it was Mama. One time it was you. This time it's me. I still love you, though, and want to play with you while I'm sick. Maybe some year we'll get it all together and I can have a good picture with you on your day! I think you are a great Daddy.

I like how you come and scare me every night before bed. Mama tries to help me hide, but it is so much fun when you come in the room, that I want to see you, not be hiding somewhere!

I like how you play the guitar, and you always let me play, too! And you don't get mad when I drop the pic inside the guitar. And you don't get mad when I laugh at how funny you look while you are trying to get out the pic that I dropped in the guitar.

I like going for walks with you. Ok, I like going for walks, and I'm glad that you take me for walks. Maybe that is better to say. :) But I like going for walks with you on the frozen lake near our apartment. I trust you. I know you won't let anything happen to me!

I like wearing a cap like you do. When Mama says that something she wants me to do is like something that you do, I don't even think about it, I just do it. I want to be like you.

I think you're cool. And you're fun. And I'm glad you're my papa.

I love you!

Things I Love

Over at a site that I've really enjoyed is a Mr. Linky (an internet thingy where you write a post and then put the link to that post into the correct spots so that your post is in a list of posts on that related subject) for a post about things you love about your husband.  The point of the post was to remind us that when we are not feeling a lot of love towards someone, that perhaps the best thing to do is to begin thanking God for that person.

While my love for Thomas doesn't feel "all dried up", I have lately been less than loving.  While working through some things in my insides, I've been withdrawn and rather reactionary.  I thought that linking up with the other ladies would be doing a good thing for me and for my amazingly wonderful husband!

So here goes, things that I am thankful for in my husband:

~He's incredibly musical--he plays the guitar, sings, directs music, writes music

~He plays hide and seek with Isaiah while I'm fixing dinner (hearing Isaiah laugh so hard that he almost stops breathing brings a smile to my face)

~He works hard at whatever he's doing whether it be "official" work or a hobby, he does it with all his might

~He figures out how to do electrical work so that we can have better lighting.

~He can cook!  I like to say that I'm the cook and he's the chef of the family.  He helps out a lot with the cooking, and he's really good at it!

~He's just handsome.  I'm thankful to be married to a handsome man.

~He likes to plan trips.

~He overcomes his fears to bring us great adventure!

I could go on, but I think that he would get embarrassed reading many more accolades. :)  He's a wonderful husband and father, and I thank God for him.

See, told you he was handsome!

Something Fun

So, these pictures are actually from our anniversary in December, but I just had to share them when I finally got them off Thomas' phone.  Aunt Luda came and stayed with Isaiah so Thomas and I could have a special night.  After our really great dinner, we took a little bus ride and then walked along the Neva River towards the Hermitage.  Here we are on Palace Square with the Hermitage all lit up behind us:

But this is my favorite picture.

Anyone else kissed on Palace Square in St. Petersburg, Russia?  Ah, the perks of missionary life.

That's The Guy I Love

December 27, 2003 I married the perfect man for me.  Now 5 years later I love him even more!  So even though this post is really late, I just had to tell you that I love this man!

My Favorite Handyman

I love my husband.  A LOT!  He helps me keep things in perspective when I get all out of whack, he plays and cares for Isaiah beautifully, he's amazingly creative, he plays the guitar and sings (which I find quite attractive!).  But on top of all these things, and many others, as a matter of fact, he can figure out how to fix things.  He's a great handyman.

For example, our toilet room (yes the room with the toilet, not the bathroom, not even a half-bath with toilet and sink, just the toilet) was in pretty pitiful condition.  Someone, not a professional, had tiled the walls.  The tile was falling off.  Every time I sat and did my business, I wondered if the tile would make it through my necessary time.  Thankfully the only tiles that did fall were low enough to not harm anyone.

Thomas decided that something must be done!  

First, he cut down all the tile.

Second, he created a great dust cloud while sanding down the walls and getting rid of the 3-inch thick mortar (or whatever that grey stuff is that the person used to stick the tiles to the wall).  He kept us safe from the dust cloud as best he could, while subjecting himself to the worst of it.

Third, he put up this really unique and lovely wallpaper.  The pictures don't make it clear, but the paper has a great texture.  When he first unrolled it, the paper smelled just like tea.

Fourth, he put these nice wooden strips down at the bottom of the paper.

And finally, he painted the wall above the wallpaper and then put up these really cool foam ceiling tiles.  We now have a safe and attractive toilet room.

Thank you to my wonderful, handsome, creative, intelligent, attractive and amazing husband!  I love you!

Night Night

Isaiah's bedtime has become a very special family time.  We all sit on the bed in our room (yes, here we share a room, but thankfully Isaiah does have his own bed), and we read a short passage of scripture and pray together.  As soon as "Amen" is pronounced, Isaiah starts to get excited.  It didn't take long for him to learn that after family worship time came special snuggle time with Daddy.  The last few nights he has literally thrown himself at Thomas, and I had to hold him back because Thomas was in transition from sitting to lying down.

First they snuggle and squeeze, then Isaiah starts his attempts to get Daddy's tongue.  He tries to fake Daddy out by pretending he's actually interested in the ear, but soon his true motives become clear.  My favorite part is when he tries to entice Daddy to stick out his tongue by showing Daddy his own tongue.  Somehow, Daddy always manages to pull his tongue back into his mouth just in the nick of time.  Maybe someday...

Starting out with those sweet hugs

Really, Daddy, all I want is your ear...see, like my ear

Almost got it that time!

One last squeeze!

Thomas' Thoughts

We are now a 3-blog family.  Thomas asked me to post a notice on my blog about his new personal blog The Heretic Mug Collection.  For anyone who doesn't read our family blog, I invite you to check out Thomas' blog from here.  He's using this new blog to help him with accountability in several areas, but I'm sure that he will be interesting to read.

Enjoy!